Ch-10

The Open Window

By Saki (H. H. Munro)

About the story

Arguably the most popular of Saki’s short stories, “The Open Window” first appeared in Beasts and
Super Beasts, a collection of short stories published in 1914 just before Munro went to fight in World
War I. “The Open Window” is appreciated most for its surprise ending, in which the reader finds that she
too has been fooled by Vera’s macabre tale of death and desperation. Michael Dirda recently celebrated
the story in a review in the Wall Street Journal, in which he called this piece and others penned by Saki
“masterpieces.”

The Open Window Character List

Framton Nuttel's Sister

She writes several letters of introduction to keep her brother, Framton, from being lonely on his retreat
to the countryside. She writes one such letter in order to introduce him to Mrs. Sappleton; this is how
Framton finds himself in Mrs. Sappleton's home.

Mr. Framton Nuttel

A nervous man, Framton Nuttel arrives in a new town seeking relaxation in order to alleviate an
unspecified nervous disorder.

Ronnie

Mrs. Sappleton’s youngest brother and member of the hunting party. He often teases her by singing a
short song.

Mr. Sappleton

Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and a member of the hunting party.

Mrs. Sappleton

Framton’s host and Vera’s aunt.

Vera

A 15-year-old girl who greets Framton and informs him of her aunt’s “great tragedy” (225).

Summary
Framton Nuttel is a single man in a new town. His sister has arranged for him to meet several of her
acquaintances to prevent him from becoming lonely there. On one such visit, Vera, the 15-year-old
niece of Framton’s latest host, Mrs. Sappleton, invites him to sit and wait with her while her aunt
readies. As he waits, Framton anxiously thinks about an appropriate way to compliment the young girl
while reserving the highest flattery for her aunt. However, before he can decide what to say, Vera
breaks the silence and asks Framton whether he knows many people in town.

He admits to being a newcomer who knows “hardly a soul” and explains with a note of exhaustion that
he is in the process of visiting all the contacts his sister made in the town four years ago when she
worked at the rectory (225). When Vera asks how well he knows her aunt, he confesses that he doesn’t
know much about her besides her address and name (225). After answering, Framton wonders to
himself whether Mrs. Sappleton is married, and he notes signs of “masculine habitation” in the room
(225).

After determining that her aunt is a virtual stranger to Framton, Vera decides to inform him of her aunt’s
“great tragedy” which she states occurred three years ago, shortly after Framton’s sister left the town
(225). Framton cannot imagine tragedy striking such a calm, country town, but nevertheless listens
intently to Vera’s story.

Vera points to a large, open, French-Style window in the room and remarks how odd it is to keep it open
on such a warm October afternoon. Curious, Framton asks whether the window relates at all to the
tragedy. It does. Vera explains how three years ago her aunt’s husband and two young brothers exited
through that window to go snipe-shooting. That summer was especially rainy, and all three of the men
drowned in a “bog” while on their hunt (226). Tragically, nobody recovered the bodies; since that day,
her aunt has kept the window open during the evening, ever-hopeful that her husband and brothers will
one day return, hunting dog in tow, and walk back in through the window. Vera recounts the memories
her aunt shared of the hunting trio: Mr. Stapleton’s white raincoat slung over his arm; the sound of her
younger brother, Ronnie, teasingly singing to her “Bertie, why do you bound?” (226.) Vera finishes the
tragic tale by confessing that on occasion she gets an eerie feeling that the men will actually appear at
the window.

Just as Vera finishes her story, Mrs. Stapleton enters. She immediately apologizes for the open window
and explains that she’s left it open for her husband and brothers who should soon return from shooting.
She expects they’ll dirty her floors with their muddy shoes. Paying very little attention to her guest, Mrs.
Stapleton continues to talk about shooting, lamenting how few snipe there are this season and
expressing hope that winter will bring a healthy supply of ducks.

Framton listens, aghast at the grimness of the situation. He attempts to shift the conversation away
from the hunting expedition, but Mrs. Stapleton cannot be redirected, frequently looking expectantly
out the open window as she prattles on about hunting. In a final desperate attempt to shift the
conversation, Framton explains the trouble he’s been having with his nerves. Mrs. Stapleton cannot
contain her yawn as Framton details the differing medical opinions regarding the proper diet for a man
in need of a “nerve cure” (225).
Suddenly, Mrs. Stapleton jumps to attention and excitedly remarks that the hunting party has finally
returned. Unbelievingly, Framton looks to Vera, expecting to share with her a look of pity at the depth of
Mrs. Stapleton’s delusions. But Vera does not return his gaze. Instead, she looks out, horrified, onto the
lawn. Framton quickly turns towards the window and notices the silhouettes of three men, each armed,
walking towards the house. One of them has a white coat draped over his arm; following just behind is
the silhouette of a small hunting spaniel. The men enter the house and one of them sings out “Bertie
why do you bound?”

At that moment, Framton grabs his belongings and bolts out of the house, narrowly escaping a collision
with a passing cyclist on the street.

One of the men, presumably Mr. Stapleton, asks Mrs. Stapleton about Framton’s quick exit. She explains
that the fleeing man is named Mr. Nuttel and wonders why he looked as though “he had seen a ghost”
(227).

Just then, Vera interjects that it must have been the dog that frightened Framton. She then tells a short,
extravagant story detailing Framton’s supposed deep phobia of dogs stemming from an awful incident in
which a pack of dogs chased him through a South Asian cemetery and forced him to hide away all night
in a freshly-dug grave.